The present invention relates to kitchen sink accessories. More specifically, the present invention provides a magnetic sink insert that is removably securable within a sink drain in order to prevent metallic objects from falling into the garbage disposal.
Many kitchen sinks include a garbage disposal, which shreds food waste into small pieces so that it can pass through plumbing. The garbage disposal is installed under a kitchen sink between the sink's drain and trap. While garbage disposals effectively remove organic waste, they are prone to breaking when an inorganic object enters the mechanism. The most common instance of this is a metallic utensil accidentally flowing down the sink drain into the disposal unit. The metallic utensil often causes a running disposal to seize up. An individual must manually remove the utensil and reset the garbage disposal, which can be a difficult and time-consuming process. Further, the utensil is often damaged and must be thrown out. In some cases, the garbage disposal itself can be broken beyond repair by a metallic object, and it is costly and time-consuming to replace. In view of the above, there is need for a device that can be installed within a sink basin to prevent metallic utensils and other metallic objects from accidentally falling into the garbage disposal.
Devices have been disclosed in the known art relating to magnetic utensil retainers for preventing metal objects from entering a garbage disposal. However, these devices have several drawbacks. One such device is a flexible metallic band that can be inserted into a drain pipe. While the metallic band can attract metal objects, this device can potentially become dislodged or slide down the pipe, where it is unable to be retrieved without disassembly of the sink drain components. Another device includes a series of apertures lined with magnetic material. However, this device prevents larger non-metallic objects from falling into the garbage disposal, which may prevent food that should be disposed of from falling into the disposal.
In light of the devices disclosed in the known art, it is submitted that the present invention substantially diverges in design elements from the known art and consequently it is clear that there is a need in the art for an improvement to existing magnetic sink insert devices. In this regard the present invention substantially fulfills these needs.